


Family Is Found

by escapethroughreading



Series: Running Towards Home Series [2]
Category: The Outsiders - S. E. Hinton
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Depression, F/M, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Sequel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-01
Updated: 2020-08-01
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:22:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 25
Words: 18,655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25651297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/escapethroughreading/pseuds/escapethroughreading
Summary: Sam and Pony are in love, but what if Cherry breaks them apart? Arlene's mom is abusive. Will the gang help her get away? I hope you enjoy this book!
Relationships: ponyboy/OFC
Series: Running Towards Home Series [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1857289
Kudos: 3





	1. Chapter 1

CHARACTER DESCRIPTIONS:

Sam - 14, bad ass. No parents, loves books. She talks a lot, and will not hesitate to punch someone. She may be short, but don’t let that fool you, she’s tough.

Ponyboy Curtis - 14, littlest Curtis. Likes books, movies, sweet, and a dreamer. Johnny is his best friend. Pony is on the track team and a fast runner.

Johnny Cade - 15, shy, scar on his cheek from being jumped. Abused at home, Dally’s favorite, Ponyboy is his best friend.

Sodapop Cutrtis - 16, funny, very nice, can make anyone laugh. Highschool dropout, works at the DX fixing cars with his best friend Steve. Middle Curtis child.

Steve Randle - 17, works at the DX with his best friend Sodapop. He’s cocky and good with cars. He loves chocolate cake more than anyone else in the gang.

Darrel/Darry Curtis - 20, tough but loving. He is the eldest Curtis brother, and takes care of everything. He is the main parental figure, and though he may fight with Ponyboy a lot, he loves his brothers more than anything. He keeps the door open for everyone.

Dallas/Dally Winston - 17, originally from NYC. He is tough, and does not show affection. He loves people but will never show it. He is in and out of jail, and he lives at Bucks, a bar. 

Two-Bit Matthews - 18 (and a ½), a junior in highschool. He is always cracking jokes, and loves Mickey Mouse. He is drunk a lot, and he is friendly most of the time.

Arlene - 15, Johnny’s age. She is quiet, sweet, and a bit clumsy. She works at the Dingo.


	2. CHAPTER 1

ARLENE’S POV:

My mom is yelling at me again. Like normal. Ever since Dad left, she just takes out all her anger on me. She never usually leaves major physical injuries, just mental ones. All I did was come home late from my date with Johnny, and only by half an hour. But it wouldn’t matter if I was on time or not. She just wants a chance to hurt me.

“So you’re finally home. Where were you?” She seems strangely calm. I can tell she’s been drinking. Her calmness scares me more than if she was yelling. “I was on a date with Johnny,” I say, cautious of how she would respond. She starts getting closer to me. Before I can move, she grabs my wrist, hard. “I bet you were sleeping around, like the slut you are.” she says this without raising her voice. I try to get my wrist away from her, but she just holds on harder.

“You’re hurting me,” I say, and she smiles. “Good.” She grabs even harder, her nails digging into my skin, drawing blood. I gasp in pain, but she doesn’t let go. “Please, I’m sorry,” I say, tears welling in my eyes. “Please, just let go.” she stares me in the eyes, and then she releases my wrist, and I almost collapse. 

Blood is pooling in the cuts on my wrist, left by her nails. I can already see the bruise forming. “He doesn’t love you, you know that right?” she says, her back to me. I stay silent. “He’ll leave you, just like your dad did, because you’re not worth loving.” Then she walks to her room, leaving me in the doorway. 

I walk to my room, and crawl into bed. I don’t even bother changing my clothes. I just slip off my shoes and jacket and climb under the covers. I know my mother only says those things to hurt me, and I know that she’s lying, but in the back of my mind, I can’t help but wonder. Is it true? Will Johnny leave, just like dad did? No. Johnny’s not that type of guy. He wouldn’t leave me.

In the morning, I wake up and take a quick shower. I wish I could wash off the words mom said to me last night, but those are imprinted on me, something that will never disappear. I get out, the warm water and steam clearing my head. I change into my black long sleeve shirt, making sure it covers my bruised wrist. It’s still tender. The bruise is purple, and goes all the way around like a bracelet.

I put on my jeans and boots, and put on some basic makeup, mascara and a little bit of lipstick. I don’t necessarily like makeup, but it makes me feel better when I wear it. I grab a slice of bread from the kitchen, and head over to the Dingo, where I work. I have the early shift. It’s actually kind of nice, because not very many people come in, and I get to sit and read.

I get there and put my apron on, tying it as best I can without being able to see the strings. I then sit down behind the counter, and wait for my first customers. The day passes fairly fast. Around lunch time, it starts to get crowded. I’m the only waitress working today, so I am running back and forth like crazy. I eventually get off my shift. I hang up my apron, say goodbye to the cook, and head outside.

“Hey there, beautiful.” I hear a voice say. I look up, and Johnny comes over to me, and grabs my hand. “Hey Johnny. Whatcha doing here?” I ask, smiling at him. “Nothing much, just wanted to see my girlfriend.” He kisses me, and I giggle.

We decided to walk back to the Curtis house. We chatted the whole way home, talking about school, work, anything we can think of. Much too soon we arrive at the Curtis’s and we go inside. “Hey, Johnny, hey Arlene.” Pony says as we come in. He’s sitting on the couch next to Sam, and she waves to us. “You guys ready to go back to school tomorrow?” she asks, and we all groan. “No, the weekend was too short!” Pony complains.

Darry peeks his head out of the kitchen. “It’s only the second week of school. It can’t be that bad,” he says, and goes back to cooking dinner. “But it is! It’s so boring,” Sam says. Soda comes into the living room, hair wet from taking a shower. “You could always drop out like me.” he suggests. We hear Darry shout from the kitchen “Do that and you will not be coming back in this house.” 

We all chuckle a bit. We talk together, the gang slowly coming in and joining us. Dally comes in with a new black eye, but no one asks him about it. He’s always coming in with new bruises from a fight or something. “Dinner, everyone!” Darry calls out. We all come crowding around the table, pulling up extra seats and stools. It’s a tight fit, but we all have a spot.

We eat fast, the food gone within half an hour. These boys eat like someone is going to take their food away. When everyone’s done, I offer to help clean up. They tell me I don’t have to, but I insist. I go over to the sink and make Darry scootch over so I can help him with the dishes. I pull up my sleeves, and get to washing. Then I hear Darry gasp and I feel him grab my wrist. I completely forgot about my bruises. 


	3. CHAPTER 2

DARRY’S POV:

Arlene offers to help with the dishes, and I try to tell her she doesn't have too, but she gently elbows me out of the way so she could help with the washing. I hear the water start running, and I go to grab a rag to dry the dishes once she washes them. I turn back to grab the first dish, and see her wrist, covered in dark purple bruises, little scabs on top from where it looks like nails dug into her skin. I gasp and grab her wrist.

“Arlene, who did this to you?” I ask. I’m going to kill whoever did this to Arlene. She’s a sweet girl, she would never do anyone harm. Arlene just looks away, and she tries to pull her wrist back, but I turn her face to look towards me. “Who did this to you?” I repeat. She has tears in her eyes, and she sinks to the ground. I sit down next to her on the kitchen floor. The rest of the gang is in the living room, fooling around. I try to talk quietly.

“Arlene, what happened?” I ask, pleading with her. She has tears running down her face freely now. “It was my mom. She was angry with me.” I feel anger light up inside me. How dare her mother do this? How can parents hate a child so much they would cause them harm? First Johnny, and now Arlene? These kids don’t deserve this. 

“You have to tell Johnny about this. He’ll figure it out sooner or later.” She looks at me, and she knows I’m right. “I’m scared.” she whispers. I hug her. “You have the gang, they will never leave you. You don’t have to be scared, I promise.” I help her up. We walk into the living room, and everyone is playing around, watching TV and playing cards. 

“There you are,” Two-Bit says loudly, and he grabs Arlene’s wrist in an attempt to get her to sit down next to him. It’s her bruised wrist. Arlene yells out in pain, and the room goes silent. Everyone turns to look at her. Johnny runs over. “Arlene, what’s wrong? What did you do, Two-Bit?” Johnny asks angrily. Arlene looks at him. Then she pulls up her sleeve.

JOHNNY’S POV:

Arlene pulls up her sleeve, and I see the dark purple bruises on her wrist. I look her in the eyes, anger burning inside me. “How did this happen?” I say. The whole gang is looking on, and they stay silent. “It was my mom, Johnny. It’s fine.” she says. Pony speaks up. “No, no it’s not! Don’t say that!” Arlene looks at him, and she starts silently crying. I hold her close.

My parents hurt me. I know how much it hurts. I never want her to go through that again. I can’t believe I didn’t notice it before. I wish she had told me. Maybe then I could have helped her sooner. Arlene pulls away, and faces the gang. “I’m sorry you guys had to see that.” she says, wiping her tears. Dally, the last person you would expect to speak in this situation, speaks up.

“Why didn’t you tell us sooner? We could have helped you.” Arlene just looks at her shoes. “I didn’t want to burden you guys anymore than I already do.” Steve yells out in surprise,

“You're not a burden! We like having you around.” the gang nods in agreement. Arlene smiles a bit. I face her. “Arlene, you are never a burden. You are a part of this family. We care about you.” 

She kisses me, and I kiss back. Darry comes out and clears his throat. “Who wants chocolate cake?” he asks. We pull apart, and everyone goes charging into the kitchen for cake, and I hold Arlene’s hand as we walk in. I hope she understands now how much the gang cares about her. They may not show emotion, but we are a family here. We defend each other. 


	4. CHAPTER 3

SAM’S POV:

I’m late for class again. I had to talk to my teacher before I left, and of course he talked super slowly. I finally reach my locker, and the halls are already empty. I’m about to grab my books out when I hear a voice. “Hey, greaser.” I turn around and roll my eyes.

“Hello Cherry. Can I help you?” I give her a fake smile. She smirks at me. “You know he doesn’t love you, right?” she says. I know she’s talking about Pony. She’s had a crush on him for ages. Pony hates her, but she still won’t lay off.

“It’s time to move on, Cherry. I’m sure there’s a nice idiot out there for you somewhere. You just have to find him.” I go to grab my books when Cherry slams the locker door on my fingers. I give a yelp of pain. Cherry just smiles. “You’ll see. You’re not worth anything anyway. To him you're just another grease ball.” She says and walks away.

I pull my books out, and my hand is smarting from being slammed by the locker. My fingers are red from the impact. I’m just glad they didn’t break. That would be hard to explain to the gang later. I head to class, and walk in. Everyone turns to look at me. I ran to my seat in the back of the class and sat down. Eventually everyone lost interest in me and went back to fooling around in class. The rest of the period passes fairly quickly. Before I know it the bell has rung.

The day passes, one class to the next, blurring together. I don’t pay attention in any of them. The work is boring. I already learned most of this at school back in Kansas. When school finally lets out, I meet Pony, Arlene, and Johnny at the front of the school to walk home. 

“Hey guys.” I say, and they all wave. I grab Pony’s hand and we start to walk. We make it about halfway home when a mustang pulls up next to us. “Hey, girlies. Why don’t you ditch these guys and come with us?” one of the socs says. I roll my eyes. “Buzz off, will ya?” I flip them off, and they drive away, calling us names. Annoying but not unusual. 

When we finally get home, I grab a cup of chocolate milk and sit on the couch in the living room. I pull out my homework. It’s better to get it done now so I can go out later. I get through my history work pretty easily. I like history. Then I start on my math.

“Pony, can you do this for me?” I whine, and he takes a look at it. “These aren’t too bad. Just use the quadratic formula,” he says. I just look at him blankly. He explains it to me, and helps me with the problems. I hate math, but Pony is pretty good at it. We work for another hour or so, and then Steve and Soda get home from the DX.

Steve of course goes right for the chocolate cake. Soda comes over and hugs me. “You smell, go take a shower,” I joke, and Soda just whacks the top of my head. “No more hugs for you then!” he says and walks away. “Aw, Soda, I didn’t mean it. I like your sweaty gross hugs!” I say. Soda laughs, and says “Fine, I get the message. I’ll go take a shower.” 

About five minutes later, we hear the water start running and then a shriek. Pony runs into the bathroom. “Soda, what’s wrong?” I hear him yell. “Who left the water on so hot? It almost burned my skin off!” Soda complains. I make a face. “That may have been me.” I yell at him. “How do you take such hot showers and not burn to death?” Soda shouts. “Oh, don’t be such a baby, Soda! Just take your shower!” I yell. I hear Soda mock me, but the yelling stops. Pony comes back out chuckling.

“It’s not my fault he didn’t check the water temperature.” I say, shrugging. Pony laughs. Steve comes out and sits next to us in the living room, holding a plate with a rather large piece of chocolate cake on it. He looks over my shoulder at my homework. “I remember doing that. Soda was lucky, he dropped out before we had to bother with that.” he says. “If we ever dropped out like Soda, Darry would kill us.” I say. Pony nods. We all know it's true. Darry let Soda drop out, but if any of us dropped out, he would make sure we regretted it.


	5. CHAPTER 4

ARLENE’S POV:

The boys have been keeping a close eye on me. They’re worried. I keep assuring them I’m fine, but I still catch them looking at my wrists and arms to see if I have more bruises. My mom hasn’t laid a hand on me lately, which is really nice. She’s just yelling at me now. It might have something to do with the fact that she noticed the boys walking me home every night. She knows they’re looking out for me, and she doesn’t like it. I won’t let that stop me, though. 

I really like the gang. Johnny is the sweetest guy, and I love him to death. He may be quiet, but when he gets talking, he has a great sense of humor and he’s very easy to talk with. He gives good advice, and he always knows how to calm me down when I get stressed about school or work. He’s a genuinely good guy. He’s pretty romantic sometimes, and it makes me want to swoon. Who knew I would be lucky enough to find a guy like Johnny?

JOHNNY’S POV:

I’ve been making sure to keep an eye on Arlene, making sure her mom doesn’t injure her more. I haven’t noticed any new bruises, and I’ve been making sure to walk her home whenever we’re together. I always wait a few moments before leaving to make sure nothing happens. Arlene is so sweet, I don’t understand how anyone could hurt her. She wouldn’t hurt a fly.

The gang likes her too. Dally even said so. He told me that I was lucky to get a girl like that. He said they were one in a million. I’ve never met a girl like Arlene. She’s not like most greaser girls. She would never cheat on me, not like Soda’s ex Sandy. I had a girlfriend in the past, but it was short lived. She cheated with another guy, blamed me, and then threw a tantrum. Not a great girl. Arlene’s not like that, though. I really love her. I think she feels the same way.

SAM’S POV:

It’s been about a month and a half since we got back to school. Cherry has made my day at school a living hell. She gives her friendly reminders to me every day, that I’m worthless, no one would miss me, and the all time favorite, Pony loves her instead. I try to ignore it, but it hurts.

It chips away at me each time. I haven’t told Pony about it, since I can handle this on my own. Plus, he would beat up Cherry for me, which is not ideal, no matter how much I would love it to happen. Eventually Cherry will lose interest in me and move on to torturing the next poor soul. I just have to survive until then. But I can feel myself sinking.

I feel like I have a black pit in my stomach, slowly devouring me from the inside. It hurts. It whispers to me, repeating what Cherry says, trying to make me fall apart. I try not to listen to it, but sometimes it gets the better of me, and I find myself thinking, what if I just disappear? Would anyone even notice I was gone? And if they did, would they care?

I’m drawn out of my thoughts by a hand on my shoulder. “Hey Sam. How ya doing?” I turn around and see Pony. I give him a quick peck on the lips. “Good. I’m ready for the day to be over,” I admit. “Me too. Just one more period to go. Oh, and Johnny told me that him and Arlene are walking over to the Dairy Queen for a date, so it’s just us walking home.” the bell rings, and I tell him goodbye. Pony is so cute. He always makes sure to say hello to me in the halls between classes. It’s the only part of school I actually enjoy.

The last class period passes by slowly, the clock barely moving. By the time the bell rings I feel like I’ve been here for at least a decade. I get my stuff and meet Pony outside. He grabs my hand, and we start the walk home. “It’s so nice out today. Too bad this is the last bit of summer we have for a while.” I say sadly. 

Pony thinks for a second, then looks at me, his eyes bright. “I have an idea. Come on!” he starts dragging me towards the house, running as fast as he can without leaving me behind. We get into the house, and he runs to the kitchen. “What are you doing?” I laugh. “Wait and see!” He yells, running out of the kitchen and coming back with a blanket. I hear clattering in the kitchen, and I can only hope he isn't breaking anything.

A few minutes later he finally comes out, and he has a bag in one hand and a blanket in the other. “Follow me!” He says, and leads me to a field a little away from the house. We can just see the house from here, but we can’t hear any of the noises from the cars on the street. It’s nice. Pony lays out the blanket, and I sit down next to him. I can hear the birds chirping in the tree above us. Pony reaches into the bag and pulls out some food.

He hands me a sandwich, a soda, and pulls out a bowl of strawberries to share. “I thought we could have a picnic out here!” He says, excited. I turn to him. “This is perfect.” I say, and kiss him. We sit and eat, looking up at the sky. We talk for hours, and before I know it, the sun is already starting to set. We must have been out here for hours. We watch the sunset, and then we pack up and head back towards the house. This was the best day ever.


	6. CHAPTER 5

PONY’S POV:

It’s been a week since our romantic picnic. I’m still pretty proud of myself that I came up with that. Darry was annoyed that we were out so late, but it was worth it. Talking with Sam is the best part. She may appear tough, but she’s actually a giant softy. She cried during a movie on TV because the lovers broke up. She may be a small person, but she’s got a lot of emotion bottled up inside of her. That’s part of why I love her though.

Tonight I’m going out for a date with Sam at the Nightly Double. We asked Johnny and Arlene if they wanted to come, but they said they already had plans. I’m getting ready for the date right now. I decide on my jeans, hoodie, and my white shirt. Casual, but at least I look pretty good. I slick my hair back, and put on my converse.

Sam said she would meet me there. She was hanging out with Arlene beforehand. They said they were getting ready for their dates together. Those two have become really good friends, and whenever they’re not with Johnny or I, they’re together fooling around. It’s kind of nice though, to have our two girlfriends get along so well. 

SAM’S POV:

“Sam, put on this shirt!” Arlene says, handing me one. “Wait, no, put on this shirt.” She says, handing me another. “Arlene, you have to get ready too!” I say. Her eyes widened. “Oh shoot! I totally forgot I had a date tonight too, I was so focused on getting you ready!” I laugh, and she starts laughing as well. Tonight her mom is out, drinking or something, so we have the house to ourselves without worry.

We go back and forth between outfits, but finally decide on our clothing for tonight. Arlene is wearing a nice blue top with her black jeans and has her favorite flannel on top. I settle on a black tanktop and my ripped blue jeans. We both put on converse, Arlene’s being blue, her favorite color, and mine being black. We help each other with makeup next.

Arlene does my mascara and lipstick, and I do her eye shadow and blush. I tie my hair up like usual, but I help her braid her hair. I kind of envy her hair, with its reddish brown color. Mine is just a normal, boring brown. But what can you do? You can’t change genetics.

Finally we’re both ready. Arlene and I head in seperate directions, her to go meet Johnny for their date and me to meet Pony for ours. I make sure I have my switchblade in my pocket. It’s dark so the socs are out and about, looking for someone to pick on. I walk the half mile to the Nightly Double, only getting stopped once by a soc who had a little too much to drink. 

He tried flirting with me, but I scratched a line of paint off his car with my blade, and he stopped after that. You just have to know how to handle them. They usually think I’m an easy target because of my height, but they always regret messing with me after. I usually only leave them with a bruise or two, sometimes a broken nose. I’m nice like that.

I’m finally at the Nightly Double, and I climb under the hole in the fence, trying my best not to get my outfit dirty. I manage to get under with no trouble, being a tiny person and all. I make my way to the popcorn stand, where Pony told me to meet him. 

And then I see it. He’s standing there, kissing Cherry Valance. He looks at me. I run. I don’t look back.


	7. CHAPTER 6

PONY’S POV:

I can’t wait for my date with Sam. The movie is another boring beach movie, but I have a surprise for her. I saved up to buy her a gift. She told me about how she wanted a new book, “Little Women”. I saved up for a week or two to buy it for her. I helped at the DX, and Soda offered to pay me a little after I told him what I wanted the money for. He offered to give me the money, but I wanted to work for it so I could get it for her on my own. 

I’m already at the Nightly Double waiting for Sam. I have the book in a little gift bag in my hand. I told her to meet me at the popcorn stand, since it would be easier to find each other there. I’m waiting for a few minutes, and I hear someone behind me. I turn around, expecting Sam, a huge smile on my face.

“I knew you would be happy to see me.” Cherry says. I frown. “What do you want, Cherry?” I ask, annoyed. Why does she have to decide to come here tonight? “You done with that greaser bitch yet?” she asks, her hand on my shoulder.

“Don’t you dare call her that.” I hiss. “I love Sam, so just lay off. I’ve told you before and I’ll tell you again. I don’t like you. I will never like you. So leave me alone, got it?” I say, and I try to move away but she grabs my shoulders.

“Let me change your mind.” she says, and she starts kissing me. I pull away, and I push her back. She giggles. “I think your little girlfriend saw us.” I turn around, and I see Sam. The hurt in her eyes stabs me. She looks at me with such pain. She has tears in her eyes. She turns around and runs. 

“Sam!” I yell after her, but she doesn’t look back. “Look what you did.” I say, my words dripping with pure hatred. Cherry just smiles at me. “See you later.” then she walks away like nothing happened. How can she be so calm? She may have just destroyed my relationship with Sam. If I lose Sam, I lose everything. I love her.

TW: suicidal thoughts, self harm

SAM’S POV:

I run and run, having no idea where I’m going. I can barely see, tears clouding my eyes before they fall down my face. I somehow end up in the park, by the fountain. I don’t know how I made it here, it’s at least two miles away from the Nightly Double. I sit down on the fountain’s edge.

This is where I saved Pony’s life for the second time. And this is how he thanks me. He says he loves me, dates me for months, and then kisses Cherry. I can see why he would like her though. She’s much prettier than me. I have a round face, I’m not skinny like her, I’m not athletic and on the cheer team, I don’t wear fancy outfits. She’s better than me in pretty much every way.

I guess she was right when she said that no one cared about me. That I was worthless. That he didn’t love me. No one out there cares about me. I can feel the black pit inside of me growing. Usually I would push it back down, but I’m ready for it to swallow me. I was ready to disappear. I'm ready for this to be over.

I pulled out my switchblade. I flicked it open. I pull up my jacket sleeves. I hesitate. Then I cut a small gash on my left arm. I repeated the motion again and again until my arm was red with blood. The water in the fountain had droplets of red in it, expanding as the water rippled.

I could just end it all now. The pain, I mean. No one would care that I was gone. I would be forgotten, my name lost to history. The one person I thought loved me betrayed me. Lied to me. Broke me. I can’t hurt like this anymore. It’s too much. All it would take is two quick slices to my wrists, and I would be free. 

I bring the blade down to my wrist. I’m about to finish what I started when a hand grabs my wrist and pulls the blade from my hand.


	8. CHAPTER 7

PONY’S POV:

I chased after Sam, but she had too much of a head start. I run as fast as I can, but I lose her. I have to find her. I have to. I need to explain what happened. I need to put things right. I love Sam, more than I’ve ever loved anyone else before. She means the world to me.

I search for hours, searching every alley way, shop, and bench in the mile radius of the Nightly Double. I can’t find her anywhere. But I have to keep looking. She can’t have gone too far. My mind starts to wander. What if she got jumped? What if she was taken by some socs? What if they hurt her? It would be all my fault. I have to find her.

SAM’S POV:

I look up, and Dally is standing above me. “What the hell do you think you’re doing kid? What did you do to your arm?” He yells at me. He sits down next to me on the fountain's edge. I turn towards Dally, still crying. He hugs me, a rare show of affection from Dallas Winston. 

“What happened, Sam?” he asks me. I start crying harder. “I-I went to meet Pony for our date at the Nightly Double. When I got there, I saw…” I pause, the memory hurting me. “I saw him kissing Cherry Valance.” Dally has a sharp intake of breath. “I’m gonna kill that kid when he gets home.” He says, growling.

“Listen, kid. Here’s some advice. You wanna make him jealous. Find another guy, and kiss him in front of Pony.” I stare at him. “That sounds like a terrible idea.” I say. He glares at me. “Fine, don’t take it. But you can’t say I didn’t try to help you,” he says. He helps me up, and we start walking back to the house. "You have to talk about this." He tells me. "No I don't." I reply. "You tell them or I do." He says. I stay silent.

He walks me in the front door, and everyone stands up. “Sam, what happened, are you okay?” Soda asks, running over. “Yeah, I’m fine.” I say, and turn away, not meeting his eyes. “No, she’s not.” Dally says. I give him a look that tells him to shut up, but he keeps talking.

“I was walking around, looking for a fight, and I found her at the park crying her eyes out. She was about to cut her wrists when I saw her and stopped her.” Darry comes over, and leads me to the couch. Everyone is looking at me like I’ve gone crazy. I still have blood running down my arm, and I try to keep it from staining the couch. Soda comes back with the first aid kit.

Darry starts to clean the cuts on my arm, and he bandages them up.Then he looks at me, and I know I have to explain. I start crying again. “I was going to meet Pony for our date, and he was kissing Cherry Valance. I ran to the park, Dally found me, and gave me advice, and then brought me here.” I explained. I start crying harder. “That damn kid, I’m gonna kill him.” Darry says. “Whatever you do, don’t take advice from Dally.” Two jokes, but his heart isn't in it. Darry looks me in the eyes. “Why did you hurt yourself, kiddo?” he asks me. 

“Cherry was right. She’s been bullying me for months. I thought she was lying, but she told me the truth. He didn’t love me. No one cares if I disappear.” I say quietly. “I would care, Sam! We all would! Your family to us!” Soda yells. The gang also voices their agreement. “Think about how much we would have missed you, the pain we would have felt.” Darry says. He holds my hands tight. “I never want you to feel unloved. I wish you would have told us you were feeling this way sooner,” Darry says. I hug him.

“I was scared. I don’t know why I did it.” I feel the regret now. I was so close. The black pit inside of me is still there, but this time I won’t let it get the best of me. I can’t let it get the best of me. My mind was lying to me. I do have people who care about me, who love me, who would miss me if I was gone. And that is enough for me.


	9. CHAPTER 8

TW: mentioned thoughts of suicide and self harm

PONY’S POV:

I’ve been looking for hours. Maybe she’s already at home? I have to get back there or Darry will yell at me for being home later than curfew. I ran home. If I explain to the gang what happened, they’ll help me look for her, I know they will.

I finally reach home, and I run through the door out of breath. “Guys, we have to look for Sam.” I yell out. “No we don’t.” Two-Bit says. I look over at the couch, and see Sam sitting there with Darry. “Oh my God, Sam, I was so worried!” I go over to hug her, but Darry holds out his hand to stop me. Sam shrinks back. I see bandages on her arm. “What happened?” I ask her. She doesn’t answer.

“Sam, go sit in my room, okay?” Darry says. Sam nods, and she heads to his room. But before she leaves, she stops and turns to me. Her eyes are so full of pain, of betrayal. I want to speak, but before I can, she turns around and leaves. My heart breaks a little.

“Pony, what the hell were you thinking?” Darry shouts at me. The whole gang looks angry. They all scowl at me, even Two-Bit. I’ve never seen him without a smile. It scares me. “Darry, let me explain,” I start, but Darry cuts me off. “Pony, do you see how much you hurt her? Dally found her at the park. She was about to kill herself. Cherry put ideas in her head, she waas depressed, and you abandoning her was the last straw. She might have killed herself because of you.” I don't know if I've ever seen Darry this angry, and I can't blame him.

My breath leaves my body. How did I not know? How did I not notice she was depressed? I should have seen the signs, I should have known Cherry was hurting her. I can’t believe she would hurt herself. She came so close. I don’t know what I would have done if no one stopped her. I collapse onto the couch.

“Guys, you have to listen to me. Please. I didn’t want to kiss Cherry. She came up behind me and kissed me right as I turned around. Before I could get away Sam saw us. I chased after and I’ve been looking for her for hours, but I couldn’t find her. Please, you have to believe me. I would never hurt Sam. I… I love her.” I say, and I feel a tear fall down my face. Darry’s face softens.

“Pony, you have to talk to her. She needs to hear this from you.” Soda says. The gang is no longer looking at me angrily. Instead, they look sad. I get up. “I’m going to talk to her. Just wait out here, please?” I ask. They all nod. I head to Darry’s room. I hesitate outside the door. What if she doesn’t want to see me? No. I have to talk to her.

I open the door. Sam doesn’t face me. She’s sitting on the bed, her back to me. “Sam, we need to talk.” I say. She still doesn’t face me. “Just go away. Leave.” She says, quietly. I walk over and sit down next to her. She scoots away. “Sam, let me explain.” I say. She’s still silent.

“I didn’t want Cherry to kiss me. She did it before I could react. I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. Sam, I love you, more than I’ve ever loved anyone before. And the thought of losing you, it almost broke me. Cherry lied, she lied about it all. You are so important to me. I love you, so much.” I’m crying now, and so is she. I hug her, and she doesn’t pull away this time.

Sam looks at me. “Pony, how do I know you’re telling the truth?” she asks. Her voice is so pained my heart cracks. “This is how.” I say. I lean in and kiss her. She kisses back. I hold her close in a hug. “I was so scared. I almost lost you.” I say, and she looks at me. “I’m so sorry, Pony.” I look at her, and say this with all of my heart:

“Never feel sorry for that. It’s not your fault. I wish you had told me sooner. I should have noticed something was wrong. I never want to lose you.” I say. I help her up, and we walk back to the living room. The gang is whispering, but they stop when we come out. Sam shoots them a small smile. The gang comes over, and wraps us both in a hug. Even Dally joins us. We stay like that for a long time. 


	10. CHAPTER 9

SAM’S POV:

The gang acted weirdly around me for about a week. It sucked. They treated me like I was fragile, like I would break at any moment. But soon enough everything started to return to normal. They kept a closer eye on me, and made sure to check in on me whenever I was feeling down, but other than that they treated me just like before. It was nice. I don't want them to see me as weak, to think I can't fight for myself. I fight my mind on a daily basis. I'm stronger than they will ever know.

I woke up today not feeling great. I have monster cramps. It must be that time of the month again. I was just laying there on the couch when someone started shaking me. “Wakey wakey, beer and cakey,” Two-Bit said, jumping on top of me. “I don’t think that’s the saying,” I wheeze out. Two-Bit gets off of me, and I sit up. “I like my saying better!” Two says. I roll my eyes at him, but I can’t help a little smile from escaping. 

“Two, when I said wake her up, I didn’t mean try to crush her.” Darry says. I guess everyone is already up. Darry was already putting food on the table. Soda came running down, frantic. “Darry, where’s my DX shirt? I can’t find it anywhere!” he yelled.

“It’s in your hand, Soda.” Darry said. Soda looked down, saw it in his hand, and put it on. “It's backwards, Soda.” Pony says from the kitchen table. Soda pulls his arms in and tries to maneuver the shirt the right way. “Darry, I’m stuck,” Soda whines. Darry sighs and comes over.

“What are you, three? Just put your arms through the arm holes.” Darry says, and helps Soda get his shirt on the right way. Soda grabs a piece of toast and runs out the door, slipping on his shoes as he runs. “Bye!” He shouts back at us, and we all shout our goodbyes as he leaves. 

“Why was he in a rush?” I ask. “It’s saturday. I thought he had the day off.” Just then, Johnny walks in. “Morning Johnny.” Pony says. “Soda has to work today, to answer your question, Sam. Foods on the table, everyone.” Darry says. We all go and sit down around the table. Everyone grabs food, but I only eat half a slice of toast. Pony notices. 

“Sam, why aren’t you eating?” Pony asks, and he feels my forehead. “I’m fine, I just have cramps.” I explain. The boy's eyes widened. They’ve seen me on my period before. Not a fun time. I get angry pretty fast, and no one wants to be on the receiving end of that anger. The last time that happened, I gave Steve a black eye.

“Oh, I forgot to tell you guys. Arlene and I are going to the DQ for lunch if you guys want to join us.” I say. “I’ll come with you guys.” Johnny says, and Pony agrees. We hang around the house for a couple more hours, watching Mickey mouse. I change into a pair of comfy jeans, a white shirt, and my favorite jean jacket. We say goodbye to Darry, who has the day off, and head over to the Dairy Queen.

We’re almost there when a mustang pulls up, and a soc sticks his head out. “Dirty greasers!” He mocks us. I punch him square in the nose. He groans, and does the smart thing by driving away. Pony high fives me. “That was awesome.” he says. I grin at him. 

We finally get to the DQ and go inside. Arlene already grabbed us a booth. We order a few milkshakes and sit down. “Sam punched a guy on the way here.” Pony blurts out. “That sounds about right.” Arlene chuckles. I’m sitting on one side of the booth with Pony, and she’s sitting opposite us with Johnny. “So, what are you going to do for your birthday, Sam? It’s in two days.” She asks. I pale. “Arlene, I told you not to tell anyone!” I whisper scream at her. “I’m not letting you hide your birthday! You are getting a party!” She whisper screams back. 

“Why didn’t you tell me your birthday was coming up?” Pony asks me, giving me a pouty face. “Because I knew you guys would all go crazy with it. I don’t want anything for my birthday, not a party or nothing.” I say.

“Well, now that we know, the gang is going to know, and they are going to throw you a party no matter what you say.” Johnny tells me. He takes a loud slurp of his milkshake. “C’mon guys, don’t tell them, please? I don’t want anything.” I say. “We’ll think about it.” Pony says, and he kisses me on the cheek. 

I shoot Arlene a glare over the table, but she just smiles at me. She knows full well what she just unleashed. “I will get my revenge, Arlene.” I say, and she laughs. “Yeah, yeah, whatever. I’m not letting my best friend get away with not having a party.”

“Hey, I thought I was your best friend!” Johnny says. “Aw Johnny, don’t be mad. You're my best friend too.” Arlene laughs, kissing him. I make a face. “Get a room, you two!” I say. “Oh, it’s not like you two haven’t kissed before.” Arlene says. I roll my eyes at her, but smile anyway. Pony squeezes my hand. I smile at him. 

“Look. Let me take you out shopping on your birthday and we won’t do anything else.” Arlene says. She knows I hate shopping. “Fine. But only if you guys promise not to do anything.” I say. Arlene high fives me. “This is going to be so fun!”


	11. CHAPTER 10

ARLENE’S POV:

It’s Sam’s birthday and we’re at my favorite store. I know Sam hates shopping, but I needed an excuse to get her out of the house for the day, plus she needs some new clothes. She hasn’t bought anything since she got to Tulsa almost nine months ago. 

“Sam, try this on. Last one, I promise!” I say, handing her a teal shirt. She sighs. “You said that two shirts ago.” I grimace. “Okay, okay, I mean it this time!” Sam laughs and goes to try on the shirt. She comes out, and I grin. “That is a keeper,” I say. Sam goes to change and brings it back. I add it to our pile. We’ve been here for an hour or so, trying on different clothes. So far, we only have two new pairs of jeans, a pair of pink shorts, a yellow crop top, and this blue shirt she just tried on. Sam is pretty much done with shopping, so I go to pay.

“Wait, Arlene, let me pay. It’s a lot of clothes,” Sam says. I shrug her off. “It’s your birthday, I’m paying!” I say, and grab the bag of clothes. It wasn’t expensive, only about thirty bucks. That's part of why I love this store so much. “C’mon, let’s head home.” I say.

We’re walking home, chatting, when Sam says “Tell me why you needed me out of the house.” She says. “What do you mean?” I say. Sam shoots me a glare. “You know I hate shopping. Why did you force me to go with you?” I bite my lip. I can’t tell her the truth. “Because I wanted to spend time with you, and I thought this would be fun. And because you badly need some new clothes.” Sam frowns at me. “What’s wrong with my clothes?” she asks.

“Your clothes are worn out, and you need some new outfits. I figured that would be my birthday gift to you.” I say. Sam shoots me a suspicious glance, but we’re at the house already. I lead her inside, and the house is dark. “What the-” Sam starts but she never gets to finish.

“SURPRISE!” The gang shouts, jumping out. The lights flick on, and everyone cheers. Sam starts laughing. “I told you guys I didn’t want a party!” She says. She can deny it all she wants, but her smile shows how she truly feels. She’s happy.

SAM’S POV:

I can’t believe that they would throw me a party! No one has ever celebrated my birthday before. For me it was always just a painful memory of the family I never had. The house is decorated with different colored streamers, and there are a few balloons here and there. The whole gang is here. “I told you guys I didn’t want a party!” I laugh. “Well, too bad, you got one.” Soda says. 

Darry barbecued some burgers, and we all ate outside, laughing and roughhousing. When it started to get cold and dark, we all went inside. We pulled out the chocolate cake, and within a few minutes it was gone. I was very proud of Steve, he limited himself to three pieces. After cake, the gang led me to the couch. Then they pulled out the gifts.

“You guys, you didn’t have to do this,” I say, tears forming in my eyes. “Yes we did, it's your birthday!” Johnny says. I go silent for a few moments. “These are the first birthday gifts I’ve ever gotten.” I say. “This means a lot you guys.” I smile big. I’m so lucky I met these guys. Soda pushes a box at me. “Here, open this one first! It’s from me and Darry!” Soda says. I open the box, and inside is a leatherbound journal. “I love it!” I say. “We remembered you eyeing it when we were shopping a few weeks ago, and thought you would like it.” Darry says. I hug them both.

Next, Johnny hands me a beautiful gift bag. “This one is from all of us.” He says. I reach in and pull out a leather jacket, brand new. On the back, my name is stitched in gold. It’s awesome. “This is amazing! Thank you guys so much!” I yell. I put it on, and it fits perfectly. 

Then Pony comes up to me. He hands me a beautifully wrapped parcel. I open it, and inside is a copy of  _ Little Women _ . “I’ve been wanting this book forever! Thanks, Pony!” I say. He looks at me and says “I was going to give it to you the night that Cherry kissed me, but I never got the chance. I thought I would give it to you now.” I kiss him on the cheek. 

“That’s not all.” Pony says. He pulls out a little box, and I open it. Inside is a beautiful silver necklace with a heart. It has the letters P and S engraved in it. “Pony…” I say. “I love it, so much. How did you afford it?” I ask. He smiles at me. “I saved up a bit of money for it.” I put it on. “I’m never going to take this off, ever.” I say. I kiss Pony, and the gang hoots and hollers. “Oh, stop it, all of you. You're just jealous.” I say, and stick my tongue out at them. 

We spend the rest of the night talking and playing games. This is the best birthday I have ever had.


	12. CHAPTER 11

SAM’S POV:

It’s been two weeks since my birthday, and I’ve stayed true to my promise to Pony. I haven’t taken off my necklace once except when I’m showering. Whenever I feel the black pit inside of me grow, I feel it around my neck and it calms me down. It reminds me of how much I am loved.

I have P.E. next, and I’m dreading it. I may be good at fighting, but I’m sure as hell not good at running. For some reason, however, in order to graduate high school we must suffer immense torture for an hour each day. I hate the teacher, Ms. Muldroe. She always sides with the socs, and always makes sure they have the upper hand.

I walk to the locker room and change into my P.E. uniform. The locker room is full of socs, all gossiping and giggling. It feels like my ears are bleeding. I just finish changing when someone elbows me. I look to see who did it, and of course it’s Cherry Valance.

We head out to the track, and I see Pony with the rest of the boys. They start to run laps, and of course Pony pulls ahead. He comes in first every time. I’m watching him run until I hear the shrill voice of Ms. Muldroe. “Sam? Sam? Earth to Sam?” I look at her. “Yes, sorry.” I say.

“Okay, once the boys are done, we’re going to head over to the track and run some laps.” she says. We wait a few more minutes until the boys are done, then head over to the track. We crowd in behind the line, and I wait until Ms. Muldroe shouts at us to go. Then I start running.

I fall behind, but not by much. I’m out of breath, but I keep running. I’m still near the center of the group when Cherry passes me and sticks out her foot to trip me. I fall down, and hear people laugh. I get back up, and start running again. I’m going to have a bad bruise on my knee later. The rest of the class is already far ahead, almost done with their lap. 

I run as fast as I can, and when I finally get to the finish line, everyone is already done. Cherry is smirking at me. “Sam, you came in last. Do another lap.” Ms. Muldroe says. “But, Cherry-” I start, but she cuts me off. “I don’t have time for excuses. Get running.” I scowl at Cherry, and she turns her back on me.

I run another lap, and my heart is beating like crazy. I’m out of breath and sweating. I hate running. I finally finish the lap, and I walk over to the rest of the class. They’re all passing frisbees back and forth. I look for another person to partner with, but everyone is already together. Ms. Muldroe comes up to me.

“We have an uneven number today, so you will have to play in a group of three.” She leads me over to a group of socs, and, just my luck, it's Cherry and her friends. Perfect. “Sam is going to be joining your group, okay?” Ms. Muldroe says. “Ok, Ms. Muldroe!” Cherry says, giving a big smile. All her teachers love her, and she has them all wrapped around her little finger. 

As soon as Ms. Muldroe walks away, Cherry drops her smile. “Let’s play.” She says. She gets passed the frisbee from one of her friends, and she throws it as hard as she can, hitting me in the shins. It hurts, but I don’t flinch. I can’t let her have the satisfaction of seeing me in pain. She doesn’t deserve that.

I pick it up, and I throw it to one of her friends, who catches it. We pass it around a few more times in silence, until Cherry chucks it again, as hard as she can, and nails me in the stomach. I double over a bit, and try to keep from groaning. Cherry has a good arm, I’ll give her that. “Oops.” Cherry says. I scowl at her.

I decided to get her back. I pickup the frisbee, and throw it at her as hard as I can. I don’t mean to hit her in the face, but I do. She cries out in pain, and almost falls backward. Ms. Muldroe comes running over to her, and takes a look at her face. “What happened?” she asks.

“Sam threw the frisbee right at my face! I think she broke my nose!” Cherry whines. “It was an accident!” I say. “Oh please, you were aiming for me!” Cherry yells. Ms. Muldroe walks over to me. “Sam, go to the office. Now.” she says. I don’t even try to argue. Ms. Muldroe doesn’t care. I head back into school, and start my walk to the principal's office. Great.

A/N: Fun fact, I based Ms. Muldroe off of my PE teacher at school. She's terrible.


	13. CHAPTER 12

PONY’S POV:

I’m waiting for Sam outside of school so we can walk home. I saw her leave the track during P.E., and she didn’t come back to class. I didn’t see what happened, but I saw Cherry holding her nose, so I’m guessing Sam had something to do with it like usual.

“Sam!” I call out when I see her. She comes jogging over. “What happened? I never saw you come back to class.” I say. I grab her hand and we start the walk home. “Cherry was trying to bruise me with the frisbee, so I threw it back and it just happened to hit her face. She made a big deal out of it, and Ms. Muldroe sent me to the principal's office. I got the regular talk about respecting boundaries, and how I have to apologize to Cherry, which I don’t plan on doing.”

“Well, for what it matters, I’m proud of you for doing that,” I say, kissing the top of her head. “Tell Darry I got sent to the office, and I don’t care how much I love you, I will kill you.” She says. I know how Darry can get, I usually get the brunt of his anger. “I won’t tell. But only for a price.” I joke. She raises an eyebrow. “What will it take?” She asks, a smile playing on her lips. “A kiss.” I say. “If I must.” Sam jokes, and she kisses me.

“Break it up, you two! No PDA!” I hear a voice shout. It’s Soda and Steve, walking home from the DX. “What are you guys doing out? Skipping work?” Sam jokes. “Nah, we closed up early. No one was coming in.” Steve says. They start walking home with us. “My feet hurt,” Sam whines. “Is this your way of asking for a piggyback ride?” I ask. “Maybe.” She says, and she jumps on my back.

“Hey, no fair, I want a piggyback ride too!” Steve yells. “No way.” Soda says. Steve just jumps on his back. “Steve, when did you get so heavy? You need to lay off the cake!” Soda says, out of breath. Steve whacks the back of his head. “Run, my loyal steed, run! We must beat them to the house!” Steve yells. Soda starts running, as fast as he can. Which, in this case, is not very fast because he has Steve clinging to his back like a monkey.

“C’mon, Pony, we can beat them!” Sam says, and I start sprinting. Sam is heavy, but not as heavy as Steve. I soon pull ahead of Soda. “No, Soda, we can’t let them beat us!” Steve shouts, but it’s too late. We’re already at the door. “We win!” Sam says, and she jumps off my back. She high fives me, and then gives me a kiss. Soda and Steve arrive, and Steve jumps off. “Soda, do I get a kiss?” he asks. Soda puts Steve in a headlock. “This good enough?” He says.

“Yup.” Steve gasps out, and Soda lets him go. “You had an advantage! Sam is small!” Soda says. “I’m not small, I’m fun-size.” Sam says, and we all laugh. We head inside, and Two-Bit is already sitting on the couch with a beer, watching mickey mouse. “When did you get here?” I ask. Two doesn’t even look up from the TV. “I ditched last period, came here.” he says, and goes back to intently watching the TV. I walk to the kitchen and grab two glasses of chocolate milk, one for me and one for Sam. I bring them out, and hand one to Sam. Then Soda grabs my glass of milk. “Aww, thanks Pony, so thoughtful,” He says, taking a big sip.

I sigh and go grab another cup. I walk back out and sit on the ground next to Sam. “Can we watch something else, Two?” Steve asks, grabbing the remote and changing the channel. “No, mickey!” Two whines. Steve groans and goes back to mickey. We sit and watch it together for about an hour, until Darry comes home. “Homework, all of you.” He says. We groan, and turn off the TV. I pull out my english homework, and start reading the poem my teacher gave me. I can barely pay attention to it. Sam is working on her math, and she is struggling.

“Pony, how do I do this one?” She asks, and I look over. “You have to factor and multiply.” I explain. She starts working on it again. “I hate math,” She mumbles under her breath. “Can someone help me with dinner?” Darry calls from the kitchen. “Yes! Yes I can do that!” Sam calls out, scrambling to the kitchen, eager to get away from her math. I don’t know if she knows how to cook, seeing as she’s only made a couple of chocolate cakes and some pasta. Hopefully dinner doesn’t suck.


	14. CHAPTER 13

SAM’S POV:

I run into the kitchen, and Darry is about to start prepping a chicken. “Can you cut up some veggies?” Darry asks me. “Sure, but can I turn on the radio?” I ask. Darry nods, and I turn it on. One of my favorite songs, “You Don’t Own Me” by Leslie Gore comes on. I start singing along as I chop up some carrots, peppers, and onions. 

“I didn’t know you could sing.” Darry says. I smile at him. “There’s a lot you don’t know about me.” I say, winking. Darry rolls his eyes at me, and puts the chicken in the oven. I throw the veggies in a pan, and sprinkle some oil on top. I put it into the oven next to the chicken. “Thanks, Sam.” Darry says. “No problem, it got me away from my math.” I say. “Go finish it.” Darry says, and I sigh. I walk back to the living room and sit down next to Pony again.

“I finished it for you.” Pony whispers in my ear. “Thank you.” I whisper back, kissing him on the cheek. “Aww, look at the lovebirds!” Two-Bit mocks. “What are they doing in there?” Darry yells from the kitchen. “Making out!” Steve yells. I shoot him a death glare. Darry comes running into the living room. “No, no, no making out.” Darry yells. 

“I just kissed his cheek, calm down.” I say. “If you two do anything more, I will ground you both forever. I mean forever. Understand?” Darry says. “Okay, Darry.” Pony says, and Darry goes back into the kitchen. “Are you trying to get us killed, Steve?” I hiss at him. Steve just shrugs and smirks. I hear a timer go off in the kitchen, and Darry brings out the food. We all gather around the table, ready to eat.

We fill our plates, and get to talking. “How was school?” Darry asks me. I shrug. “Boring. Ms. Muldroe is a pain in the ass, like usual.” I say. Pony shoots me a glance. “What about you, Pony?” Darry asks. “Same as Sam. Johnny and Arlene were hanging out after school.” he says. “I remember Ms. Muldroe.” Soda says.

“I had her before I dropped out. She hated me.” He says. “How can anyone hate you, Soda? You are literally the human version of a puppy.” I say. “It had something to do with the fact that I may have refused to run another lap after she made us run the mile. I was tired, she was rude, and I snapped.” Soda says, shrugging. 

“I never heard any of this!” Darry says, scowling. “Oh, it was a year or two ago, and I was young and stupid. Let bygones be bygones.” Soda says. Darry just frowns at him. Two walks into the kitchen, and I hear him say “Who drank the last beer?” Steve stands up. “You did, Two.” Steve yells. Two came back in, and he was holding the chocolate cake we made last night. More than half of it was gone already.

“Steve, I thought I told you to lay off the cake!” Soda jokes. Steve punches Soda’s arm. We all grab a piece, and sit for the rest of the night, talking. At one point, we start a game of go fish and Soda beats us all by a lot. I’m convinced he cheated, but Soda claims he’s just psychic. 

Eventually, everyone starts to head to bed. Two heads home, Steve goes out to Buck’s, Soda, Pony, and Soda head to their beds, and I collapse on the couch like usual. I can’t sleep. A few minutes later, I hear someone creeping into the living room. I sit up. It’s Pony. “Can’t sleep?” I ask. He nods, and sits next to me. I curl into him, and he holds me. I fiddle with my necklace. He strokes my hair. I slowly start to fall asleep, tucked safely in his arms. When I wake up, Pony is gone, and I am tucked under the blankets on the couch.


	15. CHAPTER 14

ARLENE’S POV:

I’m hanging out in my room. My mom is downstairs, but luckily she’s asleep so I get a break from her for a while. I’m reading when I hear someone tap on my window. I crawl off my bed and look over. It’s Sam. I open the window.

“What are you doing here? My mom’s right outside my room!” I whisper. Sam scrambles through the window. “It’s an emergency!” She whispers back. “What happened?” I say, helping her up. She gulps. Her hair is down, and she is blushing like crazy. “Why is your hair down? You never-” I stop. I crack a big grin.

“Sam. Move your hair.” I say. Sam slowly moves her hair away from her neck. She has two giant hickeys on the side of her neck. “Oh. My. God. Sam!” I laugh. She whacks my arm. “Look, I was with Pony, we were making out at the park, and it got a little heated.” Sam says. “I can’t go home like this, Darry will kill me!” she whispers. 

I run to my closet and grab out an old turtleneck. It’s an ugly shade of green, but it’s the best solution I can think of. I don’t have any foundation to cover them up. “Put this on.” I say, throwing it to Sam. “No way. They’ll know what's going on right away. This is the most hideous thing I have ever seen, I would never wear this normally.” She whines. She’s right, but she doesn’t have a choice. 

“Look, it’s this or nothing! Just say it’s the new style or something!” I say. Sam sighs and puts it on. It’s a bit big on her, but it covers the hickeys. “Does Pony know?” I ask. “Of course he knows! He’s the one who gave them to me!” Sam says. “You have to head home, it’s getting dark.” I say, looking out the window. Sam nods. She hugs me, whispers a thank you, and climbs back out the window. I can only hope that Darry doesn’t find out.

SAM’S POV:

I run home from Arlene’s, and run in through the front door. “Sorry, I know I’m late. I stopped by to talk to Arlene.” I say. The whole gang is here, Johnny, Dally, Soda, Darry, Pony, Steve, and Two-Bit. They’re all sitting in the living room chatting. I was hoping I would only have to fool Soda and Darry, but I guess now I have to fool them all. Perfect. 

“Eh, don’t worry about it. Dinner’s still in the oven.” Darry says. “What’s with the… interesting sweater?” Steve says, eyeing me suspiciously. “It’s a gift from Arlene, I know it’s bad, but I promised her I’d wear it.” I say, thinking fast. Steve seems to believe it. Pony shoots me a glance, and I smile a little at him. 

Everything is going great, until we’re cleaning up from dinner. I was leaving the kitchen after bringing some dishes to the sink when I bumped into Soda, and his chocolate milk spills on my turtleneck. Shit. “Oh, I’m so sorry, Sam! I’ll wash it for ya.” he says. I back away. “Nah, it’s fine. It’ll dry.” I say, heading into the living room.

“Sam, if you don’t wash it now, it’ll stain.” Darry says. I shrug it off, sitting on the couch. “That just gives me an excuse to not wear it.” I say. “Oh, just take it off. What are you hiding?” Steve jokes. “Nothing.” I say, perhaps a little too quickly. Darry raises an eyebrow. His dad instincts are kicking in. This does not bode well for me.

“Sam. Take off the turtleneck.” He says. “No. Why would I do that?” I say, trying to play it off. “Sam. Turtleneck. Now.” Darry says. I can’t get out of it now, better just take it off and get the yelling over with. The whole gang is watching now, silent, waiting to see what I’m hiding. Pony pales a bit, but no one notices. Then I take off the turtleneck.


	16. CHAPTER 15

PONY’S POV:

Darry’s eyes go right to the hickeys on Sam’s neck. The gang sees them and starts laughing. “Oh my god, they finally did it!” Steve laughs. Dally comes over and slaps me on the back. “Congrats, Pony.” Darry turns to me.

“Don’t congratulate him! Pony, Sam, you guys are too young to be doing things like this! Sam, what if you got pregnant? You and Pony are still just kids!” he shouts. Sam speaks up. “We didn’t do that, Darry, it was just kissing.” She says. “Just kissing? You have bruises on your neck!” Darry yells at her. The gang is silent again, just watching.

“Darry, you’re not my parent! You can’t control me!” Sam shouts at him. She’s angry now. “You are staying in my house, under my roof, so yes, yes I do control you!” Darry screams back. “Then maybe it’s better I leave!” Sam shouts, running out the door. Darry throws his arms in the air and stomps off to his room. I go to chase after Sam, but Soda stops me.

“Give her some time to cool off, Pony.” Soda says. I sit down on the couch. “Our little boy is all grown up!” Two-Bit jokes, sarcastically wiping a tear off his face. Johnny comes and sits down next to me. “I didn’t know Arlene even had that sweater!” I told him. “I did. She’s only needed it twice.” Johnny says, smirking. Dally overhears and slaps the back of Johnny’s head. 

“I should go out and look for Sam. It’s dark out, and I don’t want her getting hurt.” I say. I get up, and this time, no one stops me. I start walking towards the park. She usually goes there when she needs to calm down. As I get closer, I see her sitting on the edge of the fountain. I walk over and sit next to her.

“Sam, it’s going to be okay, I promise.” I say, and I hug her. She hugs me back. “Darry is just protective over us. He shouldn't have yelled, but it’s just how he shows he cares. He won’t be angry at you forever.” I tell her. She looks at me. “I shouldn’t have said all those things to him. You guys took me in, put a roof over my head, fed me, saved my life, badanged my wounds. He didn’t deserve the things I said. What if he doesn’t let me stay with you guys anymore?” Sam chokes out. 

“Sam, you’re family to us. You have been from the moment we met you. He would never kick you out.” I say. I help her up, and we start to walk back to the house. When we walk inside the front door, everyone looks at us. “I’m going to go talk to Darry.” Sam says. She walks to Darry’s room. The rest of us just sit and wait, unsure of what is going to happen next.

  
  


DARRY’S POV:

I hear someone knock on my door. I don’t answer. The door opens anyway. I look over and it’s Sam. She comes and sits down next to me. “I’m really sorry, Darry. I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that.” She says. Her voice sounds like it’s raw from crying. I look at her. “I’m sorry too, Sam. I shouldn’t have flipped out like that. Hell, I’ve had hickeys too.” I say. “No, the great and powerful Darry has had hickeys?” She jests. I gently elbow her. 

“I want you to know, you are always welcome here. This is your home too. We may not be related by blood, but like Johnny or Steve, you’re family nonetheless. That’s why I’m a bit overprotective.” I say. “Only a bit?” Sam laughs. “Okay, a lot overprotective.” I admit. “Just know, if you and Pony ever do anything more than hickeys, I will kick you both out, no joke.” I say. Sam just hugs me. I hug her back. 


	17. CHAPTER 16

ARLENE’S POV:

Sam told me all about what happened when the boys found out about her hickeys. I’m glad she and Darry made up. She returned my turtleneck, and I hung it back in the closet in case one of us needs it again. It's been about a week, so her hickey has faded. You can barely see it now. She covered it up pretty well with makeup she bought, but she wore her hair down that whole week. It was weird. She never wears her hair down.

We’re hanging out at the Curtis house, just Pony, Johnny, Sam, and I. Everyone else is at work or out causing trouble. “What should we do?” Sam groans. “I’m bored.” Pony agrees. I think for a moment. Then I get an idea. The boys are going to hate it, but this is going to be fun.

“What if we do the boy’s makeup?” I suggest. Sam smiles big. “No. No, that is not happening.” Johnny says, backing up. Pony tries to run away, but Sam grabs his arm and pulls him back onto the couch. “You are not getting out of this.” Sam says, giggling. I run to the bathroom and grab Sam’s makeup kit. We sit the boys down and pull out everything we can.

“What color eyeshadow do you want?” I ask Johnny. “None.” He says. I wait. “Fine. Blue.” he sighs. I put on blue. Sam does a nice green on Pony. We work for about another half an hour before we’re done. We step back and admire our work. It’s not bad, not bad at all.

Johnny has a nice blue eyeshadow, and Pony has green. They both have mascara, blush, and some lipstick on. They look great. Just then, Soda, Steve, and Two-Bit come in the front door. They see Johnny and Pony, and immediately start laughing hysterically. “Do me next! Do me next!” Two-Bit says, jumping up and down. “Soda, Steve, we’re doing you too.” Sam says. Steve starts to leave, but Soda grabs him. “If I have to do this, so do you. We go down together.” Soda says to Steve.

Sam starts on Two and I start on Soda. Then, once Sam is done with Two, she moves on to Steve. By the end, all the boys have makeup on. Two has pink eyeshadow, Soda has yellow, and Steve has purple. Steve is not happy with us, but when he sees the other boys he starts laughing. Honestly, they look pretty great. 

Darry comes home around six, and we still haven’t taken off the makeup. He comes in, looks at each of us, and then says “Okay then.” We all start laughing again. We try to convince Darry to let us do his makeup, but he escapes our clutches. He opts to go and shower instead. Eventually the boys have to wash off all of our hard work. The problem is, they had no idea that it wouldn't come off with just water. They all come out, mascara running everywhere. They looked like crying raccoons.

We had to help them wash it off. When the last of them was cleaned off, they all agreed they would never let us do that again. We will, someday, when they least expect it. That’s half the fun, the chase and the capture.

We spend the rest of the night watching some cheesy western movie on TV. Two-Bit had a few too many beers to drink, and commented on the movie drunkenly the whole time. Most of his commentary made no sense, but it was definitely entertaining to listen to. 

By the time everyone starts getting ready for bed, it's almost one in the morning. Lucky for us, it’s a friday so we don’t have to worry about school tomorrow. Everyone decides to stay the night. I get the couch, like usual, and the rest of them take the floor or go to sleep in their beds.

Two-Bit snores like a bear. I swear, he snores as loud as Darry can yell. Even with a pillow over my head, I can still hear it like he’s right next to me. I creep up, step over a sleeping Steve and a sleeping Johnny, and plug Two’s nose with my fingers. He snorts a bit, but he stops snoring. I go back to the couch and fall asleep, the room now quieter without the snoring.


	18. CHAPTER 17

ARLENE’S POV:

Damn it. I’m an hour past curfew. It’s one in the morning. I didn’t realize how late it was. My mom is going to be mad. I try to sneak in through my window, but it’s locked. I have to go through the front door. I open it, unlocked like always. I close it quietly behind me, and try to head to my room. Then a hand grabs me. I’m pulled around to face my mom. She’s drunk. I can smell the alcohol on her breath.

“Late again?” she says. She slaps me. My cheek stings. I know better than to fight back when she’s drunk. It just makes things worse. “I’m sorry.” I say. She punches me in the stomach. I double over. A little yelp escapes me. I’m hoping she’s had enough, but she decides she wants to keep going. She kicks me, over and over, and I can’t seem to get a breath in. She probably bruised, if not fractured, at least one of my ribs.

She forces me back up, and shoves me at the little wooden table in the living room. It breaks beneath me when I land on top of it. I can feel slivers of wood embedded in my skin. I can feel blood running down my head and back. She keeps hitting, kicking, punching me. I can’t feel anything anymore. My body has gone numb, trying to protect me from more pain.

After what feels like hours, the blows stop. I wait a few moments. I hear my mom’s door close. She must be in her room. I start to stand up, but fall over a bit. I use the wall to support me. I’m dizzy, and everything hurts. The world looks blurry. I can’t think straight. All I know is that I have to find Johnny. I start towards the door, and walk out into the night.

I somehow make my way to the Curtis house, and knock on the door. It has to be two in the morning. I can only hope they wake up. I hear the door open. Then everything goes black, and I fall into someone's arms.

JOHNNY’S POV:

I wake up when I hear someone knocking. Steve is heading towards the door. I look towards the clock on the wall. It’s two in the morning. Who would be knocking now? I look towards the door as Steve opens it. “HOLY SHIT!” Steve screams. “What?” I yell back, getting up. “HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT!” Steve repeats. I go over to see what he’s screaming about. Then I see a bloody and beat up Arlene fall into his arms. I ran over. “DARRY! DARRY!” I scream. Darry comes running into the living room, closely followed by Soda and Pony. Everyone is up now. Sam gets up from the couch, and helps Steve set Arlene down. 

Darry comes over, and yells at someone to get the first aid kit. Someone grabs it, and Darry starts pulling out supplies. I kneel down next to Arlene’s head. I would think she was dead if I couldn’t see her chest rising and falling. I’m going to kill whoever did this to her. 

Darry starts cleaning out her cuts. She yelps a bit, and I grab her hand. “I’m here, I’m here, it’s going to be okay.” I murmur into her ear. She calms down a bit. She’s covered in cuts and bruises. Darry uses some tweezers to take out the large splinters she has stuck in her skin. He pulls out at least twenty bits of wood. Once Darry is done, I cover her with a blanket. Everyone heads back to their rooms. Sam opts to sleep on the floor next to the couch, and soon enough everyone is asleep but me.

I’m so worried about Arlene. Whoever did this to her has no heart. Once I find out who it is, I’m going to make sure they never hurt her again. Arlene doesn’t deserve this. I fall asleep on the ground, still holding Arlene’s hand. I’m never going to let her go again.


	19. CHAPTER 18

ARLENE’S POV:

I wake up, and I’m aching all over. I realize I’m in Pony’s house. I don’t remember why, but then all of last night comes flooding back to me. The pain, my mom hitting me, Johnny holding my hand. I don’t remember anything after that. I try to sit up, but yelp in pain. My chest feels like it's on fire. I lay back down. I hear shuffling. Johnny wakes up, eyes wide, hair wild. “Arlene? You okay?” He asks, wiping sleep from his eyes. “Yeah, Johnny, I’m fine.” I croak out.

Johnny helps me up, and I groan a bit when I move. When I’m finally sitting up, I see Steve, Two-Bit, and Sam waking up from where they must have slept on the floor. “Hey, Arlene, how ya feelin’?” Darry says, coming out from the kitchen. “I’ll be honest, not great.” I say. He laughs a little. Pony and Soda come out from their rooms, and wave good morning at us.

Darry comes over. “Arlene, what happened last night?” he asks. “Nothing.” I say. Johnny grabs my hand. “Arlene, you can tell us. Please.” He begs. I look at him. “I got home late, my mom was drunk, and she beat me. That’s it.” I say hurriedly. I see a fire in Johnny’s eyes I have never seen before. He looks… angry. I don’t think I have ever seen him truly angry before.

I try to stand up, but the fiery pain hits my chest again, and I fall back down onto the couch. “You bruised some ribs, Arlene. It’s gonna hurt. Actually, Soda, can you go grab us some aspirin?” Darry says. Soda nods and comes back with a couple of pills in his hand and a glass of water. I take the pills and swallow them. The taste is bitter and gross.

“Sorry I came here last night, I didn’t know where else to go.” I say. “You can come here whenever you want. Johnny’s always glad to see ya.” Two-Bit says, elbowing Johnny a little. I laugh a bit, but stop when it hurts my ribs too much. “I need to go use the washroom.” I say, and try to stand again. This time, I make it up and stay up, but when I try to take a step I groan. 

Sam runs over, and helps me walk into the bathroom. Each step hurts. I finally made it, and Sam supports me. I look in the mirror, and the girl who looks back at me is a stranger. Her face is cut and bruised, with a black eye. She looks broken. Tears start running down my face. I fall to my knees. Sam sits on the floor next to me, and she holds me. I cry into her shoulder. 

When I finally run out of tears, I stand up. Sam grabs me some clothes and some toiletries. I turn on the shower, and climb in. I let the hot water rush over me, hoping it will wash away all the feelings that I have. I don’t even bother washing my hair or body. I just stand there, eyes closed, hoping that when I step out of the shower, this will all have been a bad dream.

Finally I climb out and dry off. I put on the clothes Sam gave me, a pair of her jeans, some of her undergarments, and one of her shirts. I put them on and brush out my hair. I brush my teeth, and I can taste the leftover blood in my mouth. When I finally finish in the bathroom, I walk out. I sit down at the table with everyone else, and Soda brings out some eggs and pancakes. The eggs are yellow and the pancakes are blue. I don’t even taste the food as I eat it. It turns to sawdust when it touches my tongue. 

Johnny must notice something is wrong. He walks me outside, and we sit on the porch. “Arlene, I’m so sorry.” He says. I look at him. “Why are you sorry? You didn’t do anything.” I say. “If I had walked you home, this may not have happened. I should have been there to protect you.” He says. “Johnny, even if you were there, we both know that wouldn’t have stopped her. You know better than anyone.” I explain. 

Johnny kisses me. “I’m so happy you’re okay.” He says. I smile at him. Knowing someone cares makes all the difference. I can feel the cloud that was lingering over me fade a little. I will get through this. I have Johnny and the gang to help me. I will heal. I will survive. I look at Johnny, and he puts his arm around me. I lean into him, feeling safe and loved.

Then I hear the car stop. I look up, and I recognize the car. It’s my mom’s.


	20. CHAPTER 19

ARLENE’S POV:

My mom gets out of the car. Johnny pushes me behind him as we stand up. “What do you want?” He snarls at her. She looks to be still drunk, not quite steady on her feet. I hear the door open behind us, and the gang comes out. They stand behind me. “Get out of here!” Darry yells at her.

“Give me my daughter!” she shrieks at us. “No. Now get out of here before we call the cops.” Darry yells at her again, coming to stand on the other side of me. “Arlene! Get over here right now or God help me-” I cut her off. “No.”

The look on her face is one of pure shock. “No?” she repeats. “I’m not going back with you! I’m done! You don’t get to hurt me anymore!” I scream at her. I never thought I could stand up to her. But with the gang by my side, holding me up, keeping me strong, I finally gain the courage to tell her how I feel.

“Fine! Stay here. I never wanted you anyway.” She hisses at me. She gets back in her car, and drives away, swerving along the road. All the breath leaves my body. Her words stab my heart, but at the same time, something inside of me is freed. Johnny hugs me. And then it hits me. The one member I have left of my family is gone from my life. I don’t have a home, a family. “Johnny. She left. I don’t have a family anymore.” I whisper to him.

“That’s not right. You have all of us. We are your family now.” He whispers back. We all head back inside. “Where am I going to stay?” I ask out loud. Soda offers for me to stay here, but I turn him down. “Sam is already staying here. You don’t have room for anyone else.” They know I’m right. Then, Two-Bit gives a perfect idea.

“Buck has an extra room at the bar. She could stay there with Dally.” he says. Everyone agrees. It’s the best idea. We decided to go and ask Buck today. Sam gives me a bag with some clothes and other necessities, and I drive over with Darry and Johnny. We go inside, and the music is blaring even though it's only noon. “We need to speak to Dally.” Darry says. Buck yells out for Dally. I don’t know how anyone can hear anything over all the noise, but Dally comes to the door.

“Jeez, kid. What happened to your face?” he asks as soon as he sees me. “Thanks, Dally. Good to see you too.” I joke. “Why don’t we talk outside?” Darry suggests, and we all follow him outside. “Whatcha guys doing here?” Dally asks. Johnny looks at me, and I explain what happened. When I tell him about what my mom did, his jaw tightens and his fists clench. “I’m going to kill her.” He growls. “Dally, I’m okay. Don’t worry about me. We actually came to ask if I could stay at Buck’s.” I say. 

“Probably, let me go ask.” Dally says, and he leads us all inside. He goes up to Buck, and they talk for a few minutes. Then Dally comes back. “He said it’s fine. Let me walk you up.” he says. He starts to lead me through the crowd. Somewhere along the way someone grabs at my chest, and Dally promptly punches them. 

We finally make it up the stairs, and Dally leads me to a small room. It has a bed, a closet, and a small bathroom. It’s perfect. “Thank you, Dally.” I say. “No prob, kid. We’ll leave you to get settled. Darry and the boys said they’re gonna head home.” The boys leave the room. I set my stuff down, and sit on the bed. It’s not the nicest place, but it’s somewhere to stay. I lay down, and I feel myself drift off to sleep. The craziness of the last two days is catching up to me, and my body needs to recover. I finally sink into the relief of sleep.


	21. CHAPTER 20

SAM’S POV:

I managed to sneak into Arlene’s house to grab some of her clothes and whatnot. The window was open. I got it to her, and she thanked me. It should be enough to last her until we can buy her new clothes. Arlene has recovered really well. Her bruises are fading, and she’s starting to return to her normal self.

Today, we’re all hanging out. The whole gang's here. We decided to go to the park and play some games. We’re trying to think of a new game when Steve suggests we go the Dingo for some food. We all agree, and walk over. When we get there, we all pile into two booths. I’m sitting in one with Pony, Johnny, Arlene, and Soda. I’m sitting on the outside of the booth, next to Pony and Soda. Johnny and Arlene have the whole otherside booth to themselves.

We order some milkshakes and fries. We’re happily sitting and enjoying our meals when some greaser guy comes over and starts flirting with Arlene and I. “Hey, girlies. Come join us for some fun.” He says, and tries to grab at us. I step on his toes. “No thanks.” I say. I hear him call us some unsavory names under his breath, but he leaves us alone.

“Who was that?” Arlene asks. “Tim Shepard.” Soda says. “He leads the shepard gang. Kind of an asshole.” Pony says. “Certainly seems like it.” I say. I mean, he knows we’re here with our boyfriends, he just doesn’t care. Guys always underestimate me because of my height, but I will happily punch them without a thought.

I pull a straw out of the basket of them, and pull off the top of the paper wrapper. I peek my head over the back of the booth and blow into the straw, aiming for Darry. It hits him right in the face. I duck down, and I hear Darry say “What are you, five?” I start laughing. “Only in spirit!” I shout back. Everyone is laughing now.

When everyone is finished with their food, we pay the check and start the walk home. On the way, Steve asks Pony and I if we are up for a piggyback race rematch. Of course we agree. This time, Two-Bit and Dally decide to join in and Arlene decides to hop on Johnny to race us. We start off, with Darry as the judge.

It’s a close race, Johnny and Arlene almost win. Dally and Two-Bit fall over while trying to knock Steve and Soda down. Steve and Soda keep running, but they’re no match for Pony and I. We come in first, and I hop off Pony’s back. “We win!” I yell. Pony kisses me. I hear Steve and Soda come to a stop, out of breath. “I bet you guys cheated!” Soda whines. “Nope, you guys are just slow.” Pony mocks them.

Soda comes over and puts Pony in a headlock. Pony eventually breaks out of the headlock, and Soda messes up his hair. We all continue our walk home. I’m holding Pony’s hand the whole way home. The necklace he gave me is warm against my skin, and I can almost swear it has a heartbeat just like Pony and I.

Later that night, I met Pony on the roof to watch the sunset. We do this a lot. He puts his arm around me and I let myself fall against him. As we watch the sun disappear from the sky, I turn to Pony. “Pony, can I ask you a question?” I ask. “Yeah.” He says, his eyes on the sky. 

“Pony, I just want to say thank you.” I say. “For what?” He asks, looking down at me. The sun on his face is beautiful. “For loving me. For being the one.” I say. He kisses me gently. “You never have to thank me for that. I would love you no matter what. You are the only one I have ever loved like this. You are the only one for me.” He says. I am so lucky that I met Pony, that I met the love of my life. I know it may sound foolish, that we’re only fifteen and so certain it’s true love, but it’s true. I found my soulmate.


	22. CHAPTER 21

PONY’S POV:

I love Sam with all my heart. Sitting on the roof with her, and seeing her smile, still gives me butterflies, just like the first time I met her. She is the most beautiful, badass girl I have ever met. I’m so lucky to have her. The sun finally disappears over the horizon, and I look over at Sam. 

She’s fast asleep. She has a small smile on her face as she sleeps. I have to get her inside. I carefully lift her up, trying not to wake her. I make my way through the window, and walk her into the living room. The rest of the gang must have left, since Soda and Darry are the only ones here. Darry is sitting in his chair reading the newspaper and Soda is sitting on the ground reading a magazine.

When I come in, they both look over. I motion with my head to Sam, and they nod. They won’t make any noise. I gently lay her down on the couch, and she mumbles a bit in her sleep. I grab a blanket and place it on top of her. I turn out the lights, and walk with Soda and Darry to our rooms. Darry says a quick good night and goes into his room, and I go with Soda into ours. 

I change and get into bed, and Soda climbs in next to me. “You really like Sam, right?” I hear Soda whisper. “Yeah, I do. I really do.” I whisper back. Soda turns to face me. “She’s a good girl. Don’t let her go.” Soda says. “I don’t ever plan to.” I say, and Soda smiles at me. “Mom would like her, I think.” Soda whispers. “She would.” I smile back. 

I start to fall asleep, and Soda puts his arm around me. “Goodnight, Pony.” He says. I wish him a good night too, and he slowly falls into a deep sleep. I can feel his chest rise and fall next to me. I can’t sleep. I have so much on my mind. I really love Sam. Do I want to marry her one day? I know it may be too soon to think about this, but it’s on my mind. What if she’s not the one for me? What if she doesn’t love me as much as I love her?

What Soda said about mom liking her sticks with me. Mom would have loved Sam. Sam is spunky, sweet, small yet tough, just like mom. I wish mom was here to meet her. I wish dad was here too. He would love Sam, just like mom. I fall asleep thinking about my future, my parents, and most of all, Sam.

I wake up in the morning, and Soda is gone, probably getting ready for work or helping with breakfast. I get up, and I start to change. I walk into the living room, and everyone is already awake. I sit down for breakfast. It’s a Saturday, so I don’t have to worry about school. “So, I figure you were the one that carried me in?” Sam asks, shooting me a smile. “Yup. You were passed out cold.” I say. “Thanks.” She says, giving me a kiss.

“So, I have to go into work today, Soda and Steve are working at the DX, so you guys have the house to yourselves. I’m asking Two-Bit to come over.” Darry says. “Darry, we’re fifteen, we don’t need a babysitter.” Sam sighs. She’s right. “No, I’m asking you two to babysit Two-Bit so that you can’t get up to any funny business.” Darry says. 

“We’re not going to get up to any ‘funny business’ as you call it.” I say. “That hickey you gave Sam a few weeks ago says otherwise.” Darry yells from the kitchen. Sam rolls her eyes. “Hello, Curtis family!” Two-Bit yells as he walks in the front door. He goes straight into the kitchen and grabs a beer. “A beer? It’s not even noon yet.” Darry says. Two just shrugs and takes a long sip. He then sits down in front of the TV and starts watching mickey mouse. Darry and Soda finish cleaning up, and they start to head out. “Sam, Pony, keep an eye on Two. Two, don’t let them out of your sight. Got it?” Darry says, shooting us a look. Sam and I nod, and Two gives Darry a thumbs up, never looking away from the TV. 

We all sit and watch mickey for a while, but we eventually get bored of it. At least, Sam and I get bored of it. “Let’s go over to the DX.” Sam says. We all agree. We all walk over to the DX, and I see Soda working on a car and at least six girls watching him work. Soda sees us, and walks over. “Couldn’t do without me, could ya?” He laughs. “Who are all the ladies watching you?” Sam asks, an eyebrow raised. Soda just rolls his eyes. 

“They come to watch him work, every day.” Steve says, coming over to us. “Do I detect a hint of jealousy?” Two mocks him. Steve just punches his arm. We spend the rest of the day hanging around the DX, fooling around. It was an overall good day. Sam enjoyed being around the DX, and Soda offered her a part time job if she wanted it. She said she’d think about it. We walk home together, talking and chatting. Sam has a glint in her eye, and her smile is wide. Seeing her happy, seeing all of them happy, makes my day.


	23. CHAPTER 22

SAM’S POV:

I’m walking with Arlene. It’s a friday after school, and the weather is great. Not too hot, not too cold. We’re chatting and laughing, making fun of Cherry. Her nose is healed, but she keeps shooting me angry glares whenever she sees me. “I mean, can’t she just get over it? It’s been weeks. Her nose wasn’t even broken!” I laugh. “She’s still jealous that you got Pony.” Arlene says, and she smirks at me. 

We make our way to the park, and sit down on the fountain. I dip my hand in the water, swirling it around. The ripples are beautiful. “Hey, girlies. Whatcha doing out here all alone?” I hear a drunken soc slur. I don’t recognize him. He’s in a blue mustang, and he’s joined by about four other socs. I can see empty beer bottles littering the car. Clearly, they’ve had a little too much to drink. 

“Leave us alone, will ya?” I say, and try to go back to talking to Arlene. “Don’t ignore us!” The soc says, and he climbs out of his car. His group follows him. This does not bode well. “Arlene, run. Go get the gang.” I whisper at her. “No! I’m not leaving you!” She says, and she clenches her fist. She’s getting ready to defend herself.

“We’re not interested. Just leave us alone.” Arlene says, her voice shaking. The socs just chuckle at her. “Ooo, so scary,” they mock us. They start to get closer. They circle us. This is bad, this is very bad. One of the socs goes to grab me, and, on instinct, I punch him. I see anger flash across his face. The socs close in on us. Then the fighting starts.

I get a few good punches in, and I break at least one nose, but soon enough, we’re overpowered. This is nowhere near a fair fight. Arlene fights, and she fights good. I never knew she could fight like this. I’m fighting off one soc, and I see a soc creep up behind Arlene out of the corner of my eye. “Arlene!” I shout out, but it’s too late. He grabs her, and the soc in front of her starts punching. I try to get over to her, but I get held back. I see Arlene’s eyes close, and she’s knocked out. They give her a few more punches, then drop her. She falls to the ground, and the socs who were punching her come over to me. I struggle, but it’s not enough. They keep punching, and the pain starts to overwhelm me. I can feel the world start to go dark. I try to stay awake, but my mind goes dark. Then I’m gone.

When I wake up, the sky is darker. I must have been out for hours. I sit up, and feel dizzy. My head feels like someone hit it with a hammer. I manage to stand up, and the fuzziness on the edges of my vision starts to fade. I look over, and see Arlene on the ground. She’s not awake yet. I run over, and I shake her, but she doesn’t wake up. I get one arm under her head and the other arm under her knees. I lift her up, and I manage to get to my knees. She’s a good three inches taller than me, but I get her up. I start walking towards home.

I finally make it home, and yell for someone to help. The gang comes running out, and they take Arlene from my arms. Then I stumble and fall. I feel someone help me up, and they walk me inside. I’m led to Darry’s chair and sit down. Pony comes over to me. “Sam, what happened? Are you okay?” He grabs my hand. “I’m fine, we just got jumped. How’s Arlene?” I ask, trying to look over at her. Darry, Soda, and Johnny block my view of her. “She’s going to be fine. Let me clean you up. Dally, can you grab me a wet washcloth?” Pony asks. Usually, Dally would refuse, but now he goes and grabs it without a thought.

Pony takes the cloth from Dally and starts to clean the blood off my face. My skin is tender, but Pony is gentle. Dally kneels next to me, and I can see fire in his eyes. “Who did this? I’m going to kill them.” He says. “I don’t know, just some socs. Dally, I’m fine. It’s okay.” I say, trying to calm him down. I can’t let him get arrested for fighting socs over me.

“It’s not okay! You’re one of us, they mess with one of us, they mess with all of us!” Dally shouts. I put a hand on his shoulder. “Dally, calm down. I’m okay, Arlene is okay, don’t freak out. Don’t do anything rash.” I say, and he calms down a bit, but I can still see the anger in his face. His jaw is clenched, and his eyes are still hard.

I get up, and walk over to Arlene. Darry finished cleaning her cuts, and she is starting to wake up. “Johnny?” she croaks out. Johnny comes and grabs her hand. “I’m right here, baby. I’m right here.” he says. “Arlene, I’m so sorry.” I say. “Sam, it’s not your fault. I’ve never fought like that. Did you see how hard I punched that guy?” She says, sitting up. “Yeah, I had no idea you were such a badass!” I say, laughing. 


	24. CHAPTER 23

PONY’S POV:   
“I’m so happy you two are ok.” I say. Sam smiles at me, then she kisses me. “Why don’t we get you guys something to eat?” Darry suggests, and everyone agrees. We sit down at the table and eat. Arlene decides to sleep here for tonight, so Soda agrees to sleep with Darry. Sam will sleep with me. We all stay up until about midnight, talking and eating chocolate cake. When we finally opt to go to bed, Johnny sleeps on the floor next to Arlene, Dally goes back to Bucks, and Steve goes with Two-Bit to Two’s house. I crawl into bed next to Sam, and put my arm around her.

“Goodnight, Sam. I love you.” I whisper in her ear. She turns and faces me. “I love you too.” she whispers back. She starts to fall asleep. I can feel her heartbeat against my chest. The slow beat lulls me to sleep, and we spend the night wrapped in each other’s arms.

SAM’S POV:

I wake up in the morning, and Pony is still asleep. I sneak my way out from under his arm and walk to the bathroom. I look in the mirror. I have a few bruises, but it’s not as bad as I thought. They’ll heal within a week or so. I clean up, and go back to the bedroom. The door is closed. I walk in, and Pony’s in the middle of changing. “I’m so sorry!” I say, covering my eyes.

“It’s fine. I’m decent.” I open my eyes again. I can feel myself blushing. “I guess we’re even now.” he says, referencing when he accidentally walked in on me when I had my shirt off. “Did you like what you saw?” He jokes, and I roll my eyes. “Sure.” I say, and I kiss him. We walk out, and everyone is awake and heading to the kitchen table for breakfast. Arlene is up, and even though she has a few bruises, she looks happy. 

“How ya feeling?” Soda asks, mussing up my hair. “I feel fine, actually.” I say, sitting down. Despite a bit of achiness, I feel like my normal self. We all sit around the table, and grab food. We spend the morning watching mickey and playing cards. Johnny beats everyone in poker, but Arlene almost beat him. If poker was played in teams, they would be unstoppable.

The rest of the day is spent playing football at the park. Darry’s team wins, of course. I don’t mean to brag, but I scored a few touchdowns. Dally scored most of the touchdowns for our team, but Pony scored a few too. He’s the fastest out of both teams, for sure.

I get back and shower, then eat dinner with the gang. After dinner, I join Pony on the roof to watch the sunset. Pony turns toward me. “Sam, when I saw you come in all beat up, I was terrified. I was so worried that you were hurt worse than we could see, that they stabbed you or shot you. I was so scared I was going to lose you.” Pony says. I grab his hand, and I look him in the eyes, to make sure he knows I’m serious.

“Pony, you are the love of my life. I am never going to leave you. I promise.” I say, and I kiss him. The love he feels for me scares me, and what scares me even more is that I feel it too. “I promised you something. Now, can you make me a promise?” I ask him. He nods. “Promise you will never stop loving me.” I say. Pony smiles. “That is one promise I could never break. I don’t think I could ever stop loving you.” he says. I kiss him. 

“Sam, I think you should know this. Soda said something that stuck with me. My parents aren’t here, but they would have loved you. That is just one way that I know you are perfect for me. You are awesome, badass, beautiful. I love you, Sam.” Pony says. I tear up.

“Pony, you are the most amazing guy I have ever met. It was fate that led me to save your butt that first day, and fate that I ended up staying with you guys. You are the only person I have ever met that I love as much as this. I love you too, Ponyboy.” I say. I kiss him. We wait for the sun to finish setting, and we go back inside.


	25. CHAPTER 24

SAM’S POV:

We walk into the living room, and sit with the gang. Dally, Johnny, and Arlene have the couch, Darry sits in his chair, Steve, Two-Bit, and Soda are sitting on the floor. Pony and I sit down on the floor next to Soda. “There you two are! Where were you two?” Soda says.

“We were watching the sunset on the roof.” Pony explains. Soda rolls his eyes and laughs. “You two are the only people I know who actually watch it.” Soda says, and Pony elbows him. “I didn’t say it was a bad thing!” Soda says, his hands up in surrender.

As I look around the room at all the people here, all the people I love. Then I realize something. When I arrived in Tulsa a little less than a year ago, I had nothing, no one. Look at me now, surrounded by people I love. I always thought that you were given a family, that you grew up with one, that I just wasn’t lucky enough to get one. But now I see that I have a family. And now I know that family isn’t something you are given, but in fact, family is found.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this book! Please leave feedback, I love to hear it. Check out the rest of this series if you want to continue reading about Sam, Arlene, and the gang!


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